By Zach Taylor, University Relations Intern
In coordination with Waste Connections of Tennessee, Inc., UTC has implemented a recycling program to be featured at all Mocs Football home games throughout the 2013 season.
Recycling boxes are located near trashcans all across the grounds, from inside Finley Stadium for the thousands of fans watching the game, to outside the stadium in the parking lot and First Tennessee Pavilion for tailgaters. Fans are able to recycle aluminum cans, and plastic cups and bottles at the games, helping the University reduce its ecological footprint.
Lisa Darger, Sustainability Coordinator for the University, has been extremely impressed by the initial impact of the program.
“After the first two games, nearly every single bin, inside and outside the stadium was full. There was easily more recycling collected than trash, and from what we can account for, there was about a 50% reduction in trash and waste as opposed to last season,” said Darger.
Despite a strong start to the effort, for the program to continue to grow and flourish, student engagement is a must.
“The student groups, Ecological Decisions for a Global Environment (EDGE) and the Society of Women Engineers, each sponsored the first two games, setting up the bins prior to the game, and helping to clean up and move them afterwards. While other organizations can get involved and help during the last four games, a consistent, campus wide attitude towards conservation and sustainability can go a long way towards helping keep our campus and city clean,” said Darger.
This effort represents the first game-day recycling program at Finley Stadium, but the bins, adorned with UTC and Waste Connections of Tennessee, Inc. logos, will remain indefinitely, providing an outlet for recycling at the stadium long after football season ends.
The current plan is to apply the program to McKenzie Arena by the time basketball season starts, while the Student Green Fee has already purchased two portable recycling bins to use across a wide range of University events and activities.
For more information regarding recycling programs around the area, visit http://www.wasteconnectionstn.com/
Check out the remaining Mocs Football schedule at http://www.gomocs.com/
